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TRIBUTE 



TO 



Hon. WILLIAM J. SAMFORD, 



LATE GOVERNOR OF ALABAMA, 




j Q X> 



(Reprint from Transactions 24th Annual Meeting of Alabama State Bar Association.) 



^ 



TRIBUTE 



Hon. WILLIAM J. SAMFORD, 



LATE GOVERNOR OF ALABAMA, 



WILLIAM H. THOMAS, 



OF MONTGOMERY. 



r3ZL 
• S/f 



Author 
(Person) 



PRESS OF 

BROWN PRINTING CO. 

MONTGOMERY. 



William James Samford. 



By WiLLiA:\r H. Thomas. 



"He 

That through the channels of the State 
Conveys the people's wish is great, 
His name is pure, his fame is free." 

Tennyson. 

For the second time in tlie liistory of Alabama, her 
peoi)le monrn the death of a (xovernor in office. Autauga 
standing first in the roll call of counties, had the hon- 
or to furnish in the person of William Wvatt Bibb, the 
first Governor of tliis State, who, unfortunately, was 
s])ared but eight months to serve his people. To-day 
Ave come to do honor to the memory of him who last 
filled this responsible position, and the closing of 
whose life was as a glorious sunset fading from a fruit- 
, ful Autumn day, for tlie more resplendent dawn of the 
Morrow. 

Doubtless, by reason of the long personal intimacy 
with our beloved Governor, which, by good fortune, 
befell my lot, rather than for any preeminent fitness 
for the high task, did tlie choice fall upon me to pay 
this last tribute to his memory for the Alabama State 
Bar Association, of which body he was for many years 
an honored member. But my beggarly pen fails me 
now, and I bespeak your kindest indulgence. 

It was Hawthorne who said that "to take in the 
meaning of a ])icture, you must be alone with it.-' There, 
in the speaking solitude, are the blended beauties of 
light and shade seen and understood; there, the full 
conception, the thought, the emotion and noble aspira- 
tion that stirred the artist's soul and drew thence its 



4 

(liviue luiriiioiiies, are revealed to the loviiii;' student. 
But, however beautiful the ideal of a human artist, 
and executed though it be by the master-hand of a 
Raphipl, yet meagre is the scope, meaningless the lesson, 
and mean the comparison, Avheu contrasted with the 
splendid outlines revealed by reverent study of a noble 
human life sketched by the master artist — (rod — such 
a life Avas that of William James Samford. 

Now, were the supreme trait of character of this great 
man to be portrayed by brush aud canvas, he would 
appear as boAving reverently at the feet of Duty — for 
Duty was his Sinereign Queen. Duty to self, to family 
ar.d to his friends; duty to his social and business re- 
lations and religious tenets; duty to his neighbor, to 
his fellow townsman, his political faith; duty to the 
interests of the whole people of his State, — these were 
the voices, these the watchwords whose behests he 
heeded in achieving his superb career. Nor would this 
picture of his life l)e a complete one; for duty as he saw 
it, must look to all virtues happily blended by faith in 
the living God who shapes the destinies of man. 

The lives of great men rise above their fellows, as 
does the majestic solitude of the mountain from undu- 
lating field and plain that lie about the base. And lofty 
as is the towering range, grandly raised as it is above 
the valley whence it springs, there are yet bolder su- 
])reme peaks lifted high above the foot-hills, high above 
the rugged fastnesses of the range, pillowing their heads 
in the bosom of the sky. Man's greatness rises in de- 
grees. All along the pathway of human exertion, there 
are strivings, toilings aud sutferings not <mly to out- 
strip the masses of humanity, but the leaders them- 
selves. But, alas I how like the Heeting evening zephyrs 
are such ambitious achievements, liringing only momen- 
tnry plensure to the little circle of life on which it 



breathes, and how h)st in the night that follows, if one's 
endeavor be not actuated by unselfish motives. 

That William .1. Samford's heart was not seared with 
aml)it ion's furious liame, that liis motives were pure 
and sweet, that his strivings were stripped of all selfish 
dross, that his pillar of eloud and fire was the fixed 
purpose to reprove ''trickery or chicanery'' in politics, 
to make other lives brighter, broader and better, and 
to exemplify by his own life the possibility of success 
by purity in private and public life, and a strict adher- 
ence to his religious belief, — that these outstanding- 
salient virtues irradiated his entire life, there is not a 
(luestion in the minds of those who knew him. And 
without betraying his sacred confidence, I trust, I may 
open the door of his holy of holies, that you may hear 
liim holding high converse with himself. For many 
years he kept a diary, in which, from time to time, 
were noted his thoughts and acts; and there we find 
the following: "Oct. 30th, 1899: Some friends are 
'rumoring' my name with the Governorship. Here, 
(where it cannot be said I write for effect, as no one 
will likely see it for years to come, if ever), I write my 
honest thought. I have no lust for office; I would not 
have the Governor's office by any trick or chicanery. 
Except to serve others I would not have it. Ambition 
for personal ends has no place in my heart. If I can 
serve my counti'y, my family and my friends and my 
God, I would have the ofiice, otherwise I would not." 
The parenthesis and italics are his, and their fervid 
eloquence can Init be felt. AVluit purer motive could in- 
spire service of a pe()])le; what more sublime thought 
and pur]»os(^ in life could glorify his God? 

And not only was this the fine purpose in liis lieart, 
but to the same end came his declarations to friends, 
and express instmictions to those actively engaged in 
the furtherance of his campaign for Governor, and like- 



6 

wise in vxvvy speech in Ills canvass of tlu^ State, he made 
this same fearless dechiration of his views and princi- 
ples, and illustrated his knii>htly conception of the bear- 
ing- and conduct of one aspirins;- to the liii»-liest maj;is- 
tracv in a proud and famous commonwealth. In pri- 
vate conversation with (Governor Jones, he said: "]My 
father was once a candidate for the office of Governor, 
and said he wonld lik(^ to see his boy hold it." Governor 
Jones, replying-: ''It has been a matter of snrprise to 
me that yon were not a candidate in 1890, when the 
office was so easily in yonr reach,'' the answer came : 
"You have just said, Governor Jones, that the Gover- 
nor's powers were so much greater for ill than for good, 
and I feared in spite of my best efforts I might do harm 
instead of good, and that consideration kept me from 
seeking- the office." 

In his discussion of political views and methods, 
from the beautiful valley along the winding waters of 
the majestic Tennessee, to the magnolia-laden air on 
the borders of ^Mobile Bay, from the East to the West, — 
all over our great Statc^ — he held up his piece of silver 
coin, and in tones that carried conviction to his audi- 
ence, exclaimed : "If, by the improper use of one dollar, 
or even one cent, I could be Governor, I wcmld not spend 
it." The people hearing, knew it was the honest ex- 
pression of an honest heart, and almost with (me voice 
made him their leader. 

The spirit of liis deep humility is shown in his speech 
of acceptance before the State Convention. "To be 
suddenly exalted," he said, "from the private paths of 
domestic life to the lofty station of honor and great re- 
sponsibility, suggests to poor, frail humanity, that pos- 
sibly there is a personal significance in the event. That 
temptation would have me in its power tonight but for 
the fact of human philoso])hy and human experience. 
I consider not this demonstration of vour esteem as 



beariiii;- any i>ers()iial sisiiiiticauce; I take to mvself no 
STK-li tribute as that." In the languai;e of his pastor, 
Dr. Moore: "That demonstration Avas uothin<>- if it Avas 
not a demonstration for the splendid character of the 
nmn who had just been the recipient of the highest 
honors whicli that Convention could bestow." It Avas 
the "esteem*' in whicli he was held by his people, and 
his nomination was the ''tribute" for Avhich the assem- 
bled representatives of the brain and brawn of the State 
had come from home and fireside to pa}'. 

In the discharge of public trust, no man could have 
been more conscientious. I have seen him in the pri- 
vacy of his home, and in the Executive Office, examin- 
ing every phase of a public question, with a supreme 
disregard of consequence to himself, having only in 
view the right of the matter from the standpoint of 
the greatest public good. I have seen him Aveighing 
the different applicants for public office, carefullj' con- 
sidering their (lualifications Avith regard only to the 
question of fitness for place. Never Avas he known to 
view an applicant from the standpoint of the political 
influence that his appointment might exert. I liaA'e 
seen him in the consideration of bills or resolutions 
for executive approval, patiently pondering every pro- 
vision Avitli an eye it seemed especially to detect any 
possible defect, and approAn'ng or disappro\ing without 
once looking to the endorsement of the bill to knoA\' 
Avho Avas its author. In the press of the last few days 
of the session, Avhen human endurance of members, 
clerks and all officials Avas taxen to the point of break- 
ing, yet Avlien repeated hearings Avere sought by the 
friends or opponents of measures under consideration, 
to Avhich the fullest hearing had been already granted, 
he Avould uniformly reply to all tender protests that 
sought to shield him: "Let them be heard; they have a 
right to be heard." 



8 

Well do T reiueiiiber how ou the last ni<»ht of the 
session, when, his feeble body strained to point of col- 
lapse, he considered carefully all bills cominj^ into his 
oltice. On my accompanying; him to his home, he 
thanked me for the little help 1 had been able to give 
him, and bade me "Good night/' As I withdrew, his 
familiar voice recalled me to his bed-side: ''It is all 
over now," he said, ''and I am satisfied. I know I have 
done my dnty fully, fearlessly and faithfully. A mo- 
ment ago I said something of your help, but I must tell 
you the two that have helped me most." Then looking 
up to Heaven, with a grateful expression, pointing his 
forefinger, said softly, (as if he feared he might dis- 
turb an angel), ''THEEE;" after some moments, he 
lowered his hand, his features relaxed into the loving 
smile, that we all knew so well, pointing to his faithful 
Avife, said softly, (as if she might hear him). "AND 
THEIvE." What an example in such a life; honored 
with the highest public trust in the gift of his people, 
and notwithstanding his physical weakness, discharg- 
ing it honestly, faithfully to God and ]Man I Would 
that every public ofificial would with him point heaven- 
ward, saying he looked for help and guidance "There! ' 

In the classic "City of Oaks" was the scene of his 
last public service and his last illness. As Pres'dent 
of the Board of Trustees, he went to Tuscaloosa, that 
he might be present at its sessions. Important ques- 
tions AA'ere for consideration, and he attended and re- 
mained at every session .of the Board. He had resisted 
long and patiently his infirmity. He knew tl^} end 
must soon coine; and could hardly have found a more 
beautiful place to put oft' "this mortal coil" for the 
habiliments of Eternity. From his bedside, his fading 
sight lingered lovingly along the broad sweeps of Ihe 
l^niversity campus, green with its acres of lawn, and 
waving with its long avenues of towering oak, pausing 



9 

iuiou to trace the stately outline of the venerable piles 
of stone, brick and mortar — whose highest iui;^i'ests 
were so dear to his heart. 

The day l)efore his death, fully conscious of his des- 
perate condition, he besought his worthy sons to re- 
turn to Montgomery, the one to the Executive Office, 
the other to his duty in laying of the fundamental law 
of our State. >Vith this last exhortation of "Duty" 
from his lips, sorrowfully they bade him a last fare- 
well. But not forever, for they will meet again, we 
trust, where Eternity begins and ends. 

Of him truly may be it said in the words of the poet : 

"Firm at his dangerous post he stood — 
Each call for needful rest repelled 
With dying hand the rudder held." 

When death's angel hovered nigh, he was heard to 
pray a prayer greater even than the life he had lived ; 
not for himself, not for his family, nor for his loved 
ones or friends, but the prayer echoed to him fro na 
Gethsemane: "Oh, Father, if it be Thy will, spare me 
to my people." The ways of Providence pass the ken 
of man. To hear not the fervent prayers that went up 
from the heart of a loving, trusting, sorrowing people 
for the life of this good ruler ! Who can read the riddle? 
Who fathom the mystery? So illy could his people 
spare him. When shall we look upon his like again? 
As Sir Walter Scott said of Fox, so it may be said of the 
untimely taking off of William J. Samford : 

"For talents mourn, untimely lost. 
When best employed, and wanted most; 

Mourn genius high and lore profound. 
And wit that loved to play, not wound; 

And all the reasoning powers divine, 
To penetrate, resolve, combine." 

The great-minded and many-souled Charles Dickens 
understood the tragedy of such a loss when he said : 
"Oh, it is hard to take to heart the lessons that such 



10 

deaths will teach, but let us not reject it, for it is one 
ail must iearu, and is a niii^htv universal truth. When 
J)('ath strikes down, for every fragile Inriu from which 
he lets the pantinji, spirit free, a hundred virtues rise 
in shax)es of Mercy, Charity and Love, to walk the world 
and bless it. Of every tear that sorrowing mortals shed 
on such green graves, some good is born, some gentler 
nature comes. In the Destroyer's steps there springs 
up bright clear creations that defy his power and his 
dark path becomes a way of IJglit to Heaven." 

On the eleventh hour of the 11th day of June, 1901, 
when the matchless spirit of "Alabama's Beloved Gov- 
ernor" took its immortal tiight, truly there was the 
going of a great and good man, a pure and lofty spirit. 
Of him, his people could but feel, that — 

"Of sucli as lie was, tliere be few on earth., 
Of such as he was, there are many in heaven; 

And life is all the brighter that he lived, 
And all he loved more sacred for his sake; 

That death is all the brighter that he died. 
That hea,ven is all the brighter and sweeter that He's there." 

To learn the lesson of Governor Samford's life, we 
must regard not only his public career; but know his 
ju'ivate walk as well; and belter still, (if we may), the 
unselfish purity of his most secret thoughts. In the 
solitude of our own heai-ts we should contemplate the 
j)erfect picture of his life, that it may lengthen short- 
sighted views, expand contracted thoughts, and chasten 
selfish motives; and that the splendor of his genius, the 
warmth of his love and the nobility of his nature may 
enal»le us to fully comprehend his great soul. 

^Mlliam James Samford was born in Merriweather 
County, near Greenville, Georgia, on the lOtli day of 
September, 1811, from a long line of worthy ancestry, 
in whom he had great pride. His father was of giant 
intellect, the usefulness of wliich through a long life 
was gravely impaired by jihysical discu-der. But of the 



11 

soil, t\w gifted parent entertained brightest hopes; — 
and it was for him tofulhll to the brim the most san- 
guine expectations of his extensive family and troops 
of admiring friends. His character was not the single 
growth of one life; bnt generations of broad-mindedness 
and great-heartedness, from both branches of his par- 
ental stock, were in him happily blended. It is then 
bnt natnral that in his day he should stand out a tit 
representative of the by-gone era of true statesmanship; 
when the "Demagogue and petty i)olitician" could ex- 
ercise no influence, while big brains and big hearts were 
called to nmke the laws and execute them. 

In the language of Mr. Blaine, young Samford ''was 
a poor boy in the same sense in which Henry ('lay was 
a poor boy, in which Andrew Jackson was a poor boy, 
in which Daniel Webster was a poor boy; in the same 
sense in which a large majority of the eminent men of 
America in all generations have been poor boys." The 
poverty of a county devastated by war, in which all 
are engaged "in a common struggle, and where a com- 
mon sympathy and hearty cooperation lighten the bur- 
dens of each, is a very different poverty, different in 
kind, different in intiuence and effect, from the con- 
scious and humiliating indigence which is every day 
forced to contrast itself witli neighboring wealth on 
wliich it feels a sense of grinding independence." Ruch 
poverty is no poverty; it was to him the laying of the 
foundation for material wealth, the toughening of moral 
sinews, the learning the lesson of life from nature, the 
realization of the boundless possibilities before him. 

Splendid opportunities for culture and improvement 
lay at the hand of the young man in the famous col- 
lege of his native town. Auburn, in the refined com- 
munity by A^hicli he Avas surrounded, and in the atmos- 
phere of learning that pervaded his own household. 



12 

l)()iil»ll('ss his fatliei- was one of the most learned men 
ill tiie State, and in wonderful conversational ])OAvers 
recalled the best traditions of old J)r. Samuel Johnson. 

Of all these intiuenees, the bij;- mind of the young 
Samford \\as most receptive. He absorbed much ajid 
assimilated all that he absorbed. In his college course 
he occu])ied an eminent position, and at aii early date 
gave indications of his rare linguistic gifts, his ready 
eloquence and his devotion to literature. 

In ISGl, when the red flame of war flashed athwart 
our Southern skies, and the reverberations of our Civil 
War were echoing around the world, though a boy only 
seventeen years of age, he shouldered his musket, turned 
from his cultured home, and Aveut forth to battle. For 
three long years did he join in that dismal contest, in 
defense of home, in defense of equal political rights, and 
in defense of the honor of his country. 

Keturning to the devastated fortune of his parents, 
lie, with <M]ual heroism, undertook the battle of life. 
Soon thereafter he was married to Miss Carolina Drake, 
his faithful wife, who ever encouraged and helped him. 
As ho was fond of saying: "He awoke one cold frosty 
morning on a little farm near Opelika, with a full real- 
ization of the respcmsibilities of a Avife and child, and 
no substance to maintain them.'' 

IIo\\' well he siuceeded in the great battle we all 
know, and how and in what inaniuM' he succeeded, we 
all knoAv. He was ever true lo himself, true to his fel- 
low men, and true t(t Cod. What this is, each must find 
(»iit f(»r himself, by a true application of ability to re- 
s])onsibility. He foun<l the philosoj)her"s stone for his 
life; by the light of the halo that surrounds the good 
name he left, we may look for it in our lives. I suspect 
that he first discovei-cd it in the ])arable of the Talents. 

He was a scholarly man; taking from his learned 
father, a love of the classics; he continued his studies 



13 

through life; talked witli Cicero in his native t()nf;iie. 
and sano- with ^'ir.Liil. His readings embraced the whole 
field of science and literature, and wonderfully did his 
mind store for future reference the materials garnered 
in the wide field of letters. 

He belonged to the school of ])atriots loving country, 
and not to the class of politicians loving self; he served 
his counti-y from duty and not for emolument ; he Avas 
proud of the good he could do for others, and not from 
self esteem. He loved a friend because he was his 
friend, and grappled him to his heart with hooks of 
steel, not with fetters of brass. To arrive at truth, he 
heard patiently and consulted l)roadly; for he was no 
egotist, he was no petty tyrant in the realms of thought. 
Final conclusion he ever delayed until possessed of all 
the facts, and he had tested them by Right from a re- 
ligious standp<»int. But once convinced, he was abso- 
lutely fearless; and his mind was to "Right and Duty" 
truer than the needle to the pole. In the consideration 
of questions of the "Right and Wrong" of a matter, he 
had no friend but "Duty,"' and no enemies but mistake 
and error. 

In his public discharge of duty, Avhen questions arose, 
he sought his guidance in Constitution and Statutes. 
He often said that if any proposition was the "law," 
(organic or statutory), it was sufficient fcu' him; and 
that the laA\', so far as it lay in his power, should be en- 
forced. His sl'.ovt public service was long enough to do 
much to ennoble the ExecutiA^e, Avhile all other branches 
of the public service felt the power of his influence for 
good. His heart burned Avith indignation AAdien he saAV 
priA'ate AArongs go unaAenged, and public wrongs go 
unpunished ; for he could not comprehend Iioaa' an offi- 
cial could lighth' recrnrd the sacred obligations of ofificial 
public trust. 

He was a i)rofouud lawyer and matchless advocate. 
Careful to know every fact throwing light on the case, 



14 

lie iiiYCsti.nated the law of both sides, and was ever 
fullv prepared for the attack of his opponent. He was 
nntiriiiii' in these investigations. I have heard others 
remark, and it was my personal observation, that in 
trial of cases, he was not content when night came un- 
til the points suggested during the day were followed 
to the limit of investigation. While all others might 
be worn out with research, yet his mind was still alert, 
earnest and tireless. Approaching a trial with some 
hesitation, when once in, he dealt the blows of a giant, 
and often handled his opponents like pigmies. 

In advocacy and on the hustings, his eloquence was 
electrifying and often sublime. If juror, or auditor, 
was moved to tears, it was by the transports of his elo- 
(pience and oot from the weakness of the hearer. They 
called him the "Silver Tongued Orator," but he spoke 
with a tongue of fire; and arguments rushed in superb 
bounding periods, with the sweep of a cyclone. 

In his family, he was the kind, considerate and lov- 
ing husband and father. In the home of friends, the 
brilliant conversati(malist, with a modest simplicity 
drawing out the reserved, directing and controlling the 
conversation with ex(|uisite skill. His language was 
choice aufl full of wisdom; sparkling with just enough 
repartee, without the sting, and enlivened with jest 
without the taint. He never came but that he left you 
A\iser; he never went brit that you missed him. In de- 
])ate, in legal argument, and in conversation, his lan- 
guage was pure as his heart was pure. Some one has 
truly said of him that all his political speeches could 
have been rlelivered before an audience of ladies. He 
never did so Avell but tliat it seemed if necessary he 
could do better; he seemed to always have additional 
force to call for any emergency arising; to have the 
power of rising abov<^ any opportunity or necessity, 
with ease, grace and originality. 



15 

For his last few jL^ava lie had revh'ed the good old 
office of "Methodist Exhorter," and in that capacity, 
preached many powerful sermons. I shall never for- 
get a Sunday evening at Tate Springs, Tenn., less than 
a year ago, where he was trying to regain strength for 
his coming labor of Chief Executive of our State. Col. 
Tomlinson, through me, recjuested that he preach for 
them. His reply was : "I never like to miss an oppor- 
tunity of doing good. Dors- fjiis; company really irisli to 
hear inef If so, I will talk to it." When he had ex- 
plained that he was not a regular minister of the Gos- 
pel, but only a "]\lethodist Exhorter," he proceeded to 
deliver a most powerful sermon that would have done 
honor to any learned Divine; and his hearers, swept by 
his eloquent appeals, fell completely under the influ- 
ence of his power. I had heard him plead for the life 
of his client, I had heard him plead for purity in politi- 
cal life. I had heard him speak of science and elevat- 
ing literature, art, miraculous, and genius divine, but J 
Imd nol heard him speak as he did to that company of 
their immortal souls, and of the all embracing love of 
the Master. 

As the majestic mountain peak rises from the valley 
and towers above the range, so towered the life of Wil- 
liam J. Samford. Based in the common plain of human 
sorrows, human joys and human hopes, day by day, it 
came to lift itself up to the shining heights of wisdom 
and universal lo^■e, for his heart wns imbued with undy- 
ing affection for his fellow men as catholic as hu- 
manity. High above the confusing strife for worldly 
prizes, high above the delusive glitter of ambition, high 
above the misty atm(!sphere of doubt and dogma, the 
lofty reaches of both his creed and his deeds, rested in 
the serene atmos])here and the clear eternal sunshin- 
of that Light which lightens the world. 

Governor Sniuford v\as stricken just when his life 
v.as becoming a part of the life of his people, just when 



16 

liis name was a household word at home and through- 
out the South, wlien his presence was security and pur- 
ity, and when he had Avon and modestly wore the sobri- 
<juet of ''Alabama's Beloved (yovernor." 

When Time, the impartial historian, makes up a 
galaxy of distinguished sons that have faithfully served 
in every public trust, his name will shine conspicuously 
And when Abou Ben Adhem's angel comes — 

"With a great awakening light, 
And shows the names whom love of God has blest," 

'Lo! his name leads with the rest,' 
For of him it was truly writ, and not in jest, 

He loved his fellow-man, and not himself, the best. 

Surely we find in this beautiful life the realization 
<^f the glorious poeni in which the poet Wordsworth 
])aints the character of the Happy Warrior: 

"Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he 
That every man in arms should wish to be? 
— 'Tis he whose law is reason; who depends 
Upon that law as the best of friends 
— Who if he rise to station of command, 
Rises b5' open means; and there will stand — 
On honoralale terms, or else retire. 
And in himself possess his own desire, — 
Who comprehends his trust, and to the same 
Keeps faithful with a singleness of aim 
And. therefore, does not stoop, nor lie in wait 
For wealth or honors or worldly state; 
Whom they must follov/; on whose head must fall. 
Like showers of manna if they come at all, — 
Whose powers shed round him in the common strife 
Or mild concerns of ordinary life 
A constant influence, a peculiar grace; 
But who. if he be called upon to face 
Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined 
Great issiies good or ])ad, for human kind 
Is happy as a Lover; and attired 
With sudden brightness like a man inspired; 
And through the heat of conflict, keeps the Law. 
This is the Happy Warrior, this is He 
That every man in arms should wish to be." 

This token T reverently place on the bier of "Ala- 
bama's Beloved Ooveriior," William James Samford. 
And now my loving task is done. 



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